By admin 
It hasn’t been the easiest of starts this season for Newcastle United and with the fixture congestion of the Champions League set to start in under a fortnight it’s not likely to get any easier.
It’s always worth bearing in mind that Newcastle had statistically the toughest start to this season’s Premier League campaign, a fact that has certainly been reflected in the results of the opening four games.
Thankfully, the Newcastle United board are a pragmatic bunch and won’t be panicking this early, according to The Athletic, this is something they’re prepared for.
The Newcastle board have done their due diligence on the UCL
Thinking mostly about how the addition of Champions League football would affect things this season, the board had already looked at how other sides who make it to the promised land faired the following season.
The Athletic report states: “Everybody geared up for this season being more challenging than the last, and not just because of the tough start. When European qualification first appeared likely, senior executives dug out research that demonstrated how tough interlopers have found it to juggle extra fixtures and resources the following season. In board meetings, it is a message they have repeatedly reminded each other of.”
While the first few games have been a difficult pill to swallow for Newcastle fans, the positive side is that the club got a cluster of difficult games out of the way early and should now be able to kick on in the league, hopefully starting with a home win against Brentford a week on Saturday.
The board are aware that Champions League will take its toll
Then shortly after will come Newcastle’s first Champions League game in 20 years away against AC Milan on the Tuesday.
This congested fixture list combined with the travel is what usually causes problems. Newcastle recruited well this summer and added depth to the squad to mitigate the inevitable fatigue, but it would be naïve to think that it won’t still take its toll on a lot of players who haven’t experienced this before.
It’s good then, that the Newcastle chiefs are prepared for a difficult season and aren’t expecting another miraculous ascent to the top like last year. That will also be good news for Eddie Howe who will be aware that any talk of his job being under threat is, at least in the short to medium term, is purely media speculation.